NEIL Lennon has been applauded by many Wanderers fans for his wide-scale clear-out at Wanderers but scratch beneath the surface of a £5million headline, and you can see why the club needs to change its ways.

Yes, the Whites boss made a brave call to axe the likes of Matt Mills, Craig Davies, Andy Lonergan and Co – and must make some more tough decisions on the future of Rob Hall, Liam Trotter, Medo Kamara, Jay Spearing and Alex Baptiste this summer.

In the past, his predecessors have been accused of being over-sentimental.

When Wanderers were relegated to the Championship, Owen Coyle was particularly guilty of keeping faith with players who had failed him, and Lennon cannot be accused of doing the same.

But while the Northern Irishman might have cleared enough room in his budget to start putting his own stamp on the Macron Stadium, the exit of yet more big names for absolutely nothing does not make good business sense.

What Wanderers paid for Mills when he moved from Leicester City was never truly established but lies anywhere between £750,000 and £2million, depending on your source.

Likewise, the cost of Beckford’s arrival from the King Power was equally clouded in secrecy two summers ago.

Dougie Freedman revealed at the time that the exact cost would only become clear if the Whites got promotion – but as that never came close to happening, you imagine it never got close to the reported £1million at the time.

Keith Andrews was a free transfer, albeit one given a head-scratching lucrative three-year contract at the age of 31 after his release at West Brom.

Lonergan arrived for £750,000 from Leeds United, Davies for £300,000 from Barnsley.

They might not have been the type of transfer fees written off from the Premier League days – see Johan Elmander, Gretar Steinsson, Marcos Alonso et al – but each one puts another dent in the books, especially when you consider salaries.

Wanderers can point to precious few examples where they have made a profit on a player in the last decade and if, as we are led to believe, they are trying to become more self-sustaining, that has to change.

Since signing Mills, Andrews and Lonergan in their first season in the Championship, the financial landscape has changed a lot.

Outside those clubs still benefitting from parachute payments, the bottom has dropped out of the transfer market completely, especially when it comes to players’ wages.

That realisation is slowly dawning on the Whites, and so the need to bring through their own players, and sell-on those when they can becomes even more important.

Lennon had to seek short-term fixes this season. In leading the club away from relegation his decision to bring in Emile Heskey and Eidur Gudjohnsen was entirely substantiated. Extending their contract this time around may require some justification, however, with another year on the clock.

He has balanced out that choice by bringing through Tom Walker, Zach Clough and Josh Vela – players who in the cold light of day are growing assets.

We now wait with interest to see what he does with players under contract who are clearly no longer part of his first-team plans.

Loaning out Baptiste, for example, until the end of his contract next summer could take a portion of his wage off the books but would ultimately be yet another example of money down the drain.

Spearing’s example could be even more costly, if Wanderers allow it.

Finding a buyer for Hall, Trotter, or any of the other players that Lennon feels are surplus to requirements is arguably just as important as anyone he recruits in the next few months. For while the manager clearly needs to fill gaps in his squad, he needs to maintain a business head whilst doing it.

One of the vagaries of football is that managers and backroom staff come and go, bringing with them their own philosophy and ideas on which players fit the bill. Players can find themselves out on their ear for no particular reason.

It is a horribly costly business when laid out bare.

So if times are as tight at the Macron Stadium as they seem, surely Wanderers need to start taking a more long-term view with the players they recruit this summer and those who they are bringing through the system?

The Premier League is a tempting goal but the price of over-reaching is much, much more expensive.